We recently connected with Robbin Gourley and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Robbin thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

My most individualistic and impactful work was established when I began writing and illustrating books. In the process, I found confidence and discipline to take on then and now many different kinds of projects. I wrote and illustrated two volumes about southern desserts, shaped by the gatherings and stories that made the desserts important to me, accompanied by my watercolor illustrations. The illustrations are narrative—not entirely descriptive of the desserts but instead, pictures of those gatherings where the desserts were served. It was the kind of story telling and illustrating which led me to producing books for young children. Simultaneously, I was working as a senior designer and then art director in New York children’s books publishing houses so it was an immersive world which fed my interests. It also provided a professional channel for getting the books published.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

Emotional connection is at the core of what I paint or write. From the heart and to the heart—some chord or whisper or echo that reinforces a larger embrace of our senses; to be in on the joke, the shared beauty, the wonder. I own my southernness and what it gives me but I was completely influenced by the discipline and hard work required to live and work in New York City. I met all kinds of creative people there who were doing what I was doing: trying to carve out a living by self-expression and finding the means to survive at the same time. It took twists and turns, experimentation and missteps but ultimately I had a successful career in the corporate publishing world. The artist that I am today emerged from that exploration: graphic designer, illustrator, writer of children’s books and now abstract painter.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

I was hired as the senior art director of a very influential corporate imprint. It was a high profile position which required not only design and art direction skills and management of people but also a cool and collected social persona. It was all consuming. I had young children at the time, my husband was working in another state and it became apparent that the highly demanding job would require too much time away from my family for my comfort level—and ultimately a sacrifice of my soul. The job required a competitive corporate drive rather than an artistic one. I left the job fairly quickly and it was painful. I did not have other work lined up. I had to pivot quickly. So I wrote my second book, Sugar Pie and Jelly Roll, Sweets from a Southern Kitchen. The process of writing and illustrating the book helped me rebuild my confidence. I found much more support for my skills and talents from the publisher of that book, Algonquin Books. The entire process reminded me again that my comfort zone is relying on my inner artistic strengths and ferreting out the support for those strengths. I later found more satisfying work in children’s book publishing.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

There is wear and tear in living as an artist and making art is a place where I can often validate the details of that relationship. It certainly relaxes any existential question as I am focusing on memory and experience. Making a painting or taking a photograph—essays in color and form—is intimate and challenging. It operates in an inner world—often quiet, sometimes noisy, and revelatory. I often like what I make or learn to like it. Often I dislike what I make. The process of accepting and rejecting my pictures is healthy. When I like something I make and put it out in the world, I am more likely to have a shared moment with someone. Social media has been very good for that reason. A painting/photographing day is not a wasted day and that is very rewarding.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @robbingourley

Image Credits
Photo of Robbin Gourley by Jeffrey Stern